Landen Roupp Is About to Throw Against the Dodgers and the Giants Already Know How This Movie Ends

The San Francisco Giants came to Los Angeles expecting a dogfight, and somehow they're still standing after getting absolutely blanked 4-0 on Wednesday. But here's the thing: they don't need to win today. They already have.

The Giants sit 4-2 against the Dodgers this season, which is exactly the kind of record that makes you wonder what's happening in every other matchup. Spoiler alert: it's not pretty. San Francisco is 14-23 against literally everybody else. This team feasts on the Dodgers and starves everywhere else, and that's not a sustainable formula for anything. Still, if they can pull off a series win in the finale Thursday, it'll be their second straight series victory over LA. They already won the first two games of this four-game set, so the math is simple.

The Baserunning Disaster That Summed Up Everything

Wednesday's loss stung worse than the scoreline suggests. In the seventh inning, Willy Adames got doubled off second base on a Drew Gilbert fly ball to the warning track. Adames apparently thought there were two outs when there was only one. That's the kind of bone-headed mistake that makes a manager want to grab a fungo and start from scratch.

Giants skipper Tony Vitello didn't mince words: "Baserunning was an area we wanted to improve on from last year, but just the whole body of work is something we need to get better at. When we get back to San Francisco, I'll be standing there with a fungo. Whoever wants to get better at it can." Translation: this team needs to learn how to play baseball again.

Roupp Takes the Mound Against a Dodgers Team Missing Its Star

Landen Roupp (5-3, 3.09 ERA) gets the ball for the Giants today. The right-hander's recent outing was rough: he gave up one run on three hits against Pittsburgh on Saturday, lasted just four innings, threw 94 pitches, and took the loss in a 13-3 blowout. Not ideal prep for the Dodgers.

Against LA specifically, Roupp is 1-2 with a 5.71 ERA in five career appearances. But he did beat the Dodgers on April 21, allowing one run on one hit over five innings while walking five batters. So he's capable.

The Dodgers counter with Emmet Sheehan (2-1, 4.79 ERA), and they'll be without Shohei Ohtani swinging the bat. Ohtani just threw seven shutout innings Wednesday to end a four-game losing streak, but he's staying out of the lineup for a second straight day. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts wants two days away from the plate to help his star find his offensive rhythm. Ohtani acknowledged the slump: "I do want to contribute more offensively. I haven't done so this year so I'm looking forward to doing that."

Sheehan has been lights out against the Giants. He's 1-0 with a 0.82 ERA in four appearances against San Francisco, including a September game where he struck out 10 over seven scoreless innings on one hit.

First pitch Thursday afternoon. The Giants get one more crack at keeping this weird season afloat.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.